The Sögur
by 19thpersonality
Summary: A series of unrelated one-shots centred around Hiccup and Toothless. Lots of friendship and hurt/comfort, but prompt for more!
1. The Unfortunate Being of Sickness

**Hey there.**

**So. Yeah, this is my first fic in this fandom. Since I watched the movie I've become increasingly obsessed with little Hiccup and our Toothless. **

**Some stuff you need to know: I'm not great at drabbles (my imagination will never let me stop before I've fulfilled my need for words) but I like prompts. Please prompt me. I usually do one-shots (my ultimate fave) but if you want to see me try my hand at drabbles, ASK! And prompt. Please.**

**I like friendship. Friendship is good. I'm not really a fan of romance, so if you see Astrid, it will mostly be in an antagonistic light. Sorry all you HiccupxAstrid fans, go look somewhere else. So what you'll find here will be good, clean friendship fics (yay for Plato), sometimes a little Hurt/Comfort, okay, maybe a lot, but I'm over the angsty phase of my writing.**

**Because of the whole romance thing, this will be set mostly mid-movie, before Astrid's discovery, when there was still some nice friction (isn't that a great word) between Hiccup and basically everybody else. **

**I knew I was forgetting something. Disclaimer: see my profile.**

**-**

**The Unfortunate Being of Sickness**

It was cold and he was wet. But it wasn't a new experience, so Hiccup sucked it up and hunched closer to the dragon's flanks as the wind whipped through his hair.

It had been raining non-stop for a week and most of the Villagers of Berk were cocooned up warm and cozy inside their houses. Not this one, though. He had to try out his latest adjustment to the rigging on Toothless's harness, and it couldn't wait. Not even a storm would stop him from getting on the back of the dragon and spending an entire day in the air. It was the most thrilling experience of his life.

But this flight wasn't the best he'd ever had. Even Toothless agreed by being unusually reluctant to take to the air. The wind was making it difficult to tell if the extra fitting did anything useful. So when Toothless decided enough was enough and cut the flight short, it was fine by Hiccup.

The walk home was even worse. The wind threatened to knock Hiccup flying and he had to lean over into the wind to make any progress. The rain stung his face and exposed flesh and when he finally burst through the front door into a haven of heat and dryness, he was so relieved he could cry. He managed to sneak past his father and Gobber who were once again sharing battle scars in front of the fire and crawled into bed, wet clothes and all. Exhaustion overcame him and soon he was snoring softly into his pillow.

-

It was still raining the next morning when Stoick the Vast jerked awake from his slumber in front of the dying fire. He blinked at the rain outside and wondered whether it would ever stop.

As the large Viking rose from the sturdy chair and stretched himself out to full length, he heard a thump from upstairs. Stoick frowned. Usually his son was a very early riser, especially recently. Stoick started up the stairs to listen again, and a soft moan floated through the thick wooden door.

The father burst through the door, and the son yelped at the sudden intrusion.

"Dad!"

Stoic frowned at the strange sight before him. The boy was sitting on the floor next to his bed, the blankets half on top of him and the rest still on the bed, while rubbing his head painfully.

"What are you still doing in bed?" Stoick questioned, a half-concerned expression on his face. The boy frowned, rubbed his head again and shakily got to his feet.

"I don't know. I just woke up on the floor."

"Did you fall out of bed?" Stoick grinned and entered the room with a couple of steps. Hiccup frowned again.

"I don't know."

Stoick placed a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder, lifted it again when he felt the dampness of his clothes.

"Why are your clothes wet? Did you gallivant in the rain last night?"

"Sort of." Hiccup smiled weakly. His father's eyes narrowed and Hiccup suddenly found himself scrutinized meticulously. His father grabbed a handful of hair and tilted his head back to be examined more efficiently.

"You're running a fever." It was not a statement of facts. It was a severe accusation. Sons of chiefs didn't get sick, ever.

"No I'm not, that's ridiculous," Hiccup started, trying to laugh nonchalantly but ending up coughing painfully. Stoick's face was set as he strode to the door.

"You'll be staying inside today. I won't have you risk your death out in this weather." He shoved a thick finger in Hiccup's direction. "If I catch you outside, there will be consequences."

With a last threatening glare, he slammed the door shut with such force that Hiccup's hair was blown away from his face. To make matters worse, Hiccup heard the heavy lock that his father rarely used (except of course when Hiccup had caused the entire village to burn to the ground, or something similar) grind shut.

Despite the protests his body made, Hiccup flung himself at the door.

"No, no, Dad! DAD! Please don't lock me in here! PLEASE!"

From the other side of the door, he heard the metal key slip out of the lock, and then his father's voice, slightly more concerned than earlier.

"I'll have Gobber check up on you later. Get out of those wet clothes, and into bed."

Then there were heavy footfalls on the stairs and silence.

-

"This might have been a little extreme, locking the boy in his room," Gobber muttered as he let himself into the house of the Chief.

But then again, last time Hiccup had shown signs of an illness, it was only a couple of hours before he was violently sick in the village square and fainting soon after. It had given Stoick quite a scare and the large Viking had been a little over-protective of his son since then. Although Stoick didn't like to share his concern, Gobber himself had picked up on it.

Gobber sighed at the dying embers in the grate, vowing to do something about that as soon as he let Hiccup out of his room to loaf around the house for a few minutes before re-confining him again.

"Okay Hiccup," the older Viking said as he hobbled up the stairs and pulled out the key. "Your father sent me over to check that you're still alive. Are you hung-"

He stopped in mid-sentence as the door swung open and revealed an empty room. The window was open and the rain and wind was pelting at the banging frame. Gobber peered into the almost-darkness outside and saw what he suspected. A rope twisting and dancing in the wind - the perfect escape.

Gobber sighed.

"Ry."

-

Hiccup was running through the rain. The three fish he had stolen from the neighbors kept spilling out of his arms, and it was very uncomfortable. He had to get to Toothless and back before Gobber showed up and saw that he went AWOL. If that happened, there will be all hell to pay.

Finally, stumbling down the rocky slope, he let the fish fall to the ground and peered, still heaving with exertion, into the curtain of rain, searching for the dragon. He didn't search long. Before Hiccup could even call the Night Fury's nickname, a dark shape loomed through the rain and gazed down at the meager meal laid out before him. Toothless looked up with something like surprise.

"Sorry – buddy." Hiccup placed his hands on his knees and tried to control his breathing. "It'sallIcouldfind."

Toothless seemed to shrug and dug in with fervor. Then suddenly the smell of fish and blood and guts was too much for Hiccup.

Stumbling blindly through the rain, Hiccup felt for a bush, a tree, anything. When his head made contact with the bark of a tree, he fell to his knees and rid himself of what little was in his stomach.

The dragon had never heard that sound before. Even with the rain drowning out most noises, it was brutal and violent. Was the human hatchling making that noise?

Toothless picked up the last fish and chomped on it as he neared the sound. The child was on his hands and knees, doing something behind a tree. Toothless sat down to watch and cocked his head. When the boy sat back on his knees and heaved a couple of deep breaths, the two made eye contact. Toothless didn't recognize that look in the hatchling's eyes. Maybe he was hungry.

The Night Fury generously offered what was left of the mauled fish in his mouth to the boy. The hatchling gasped, and for a moment Toothless thought the boy was choking and slinked forward to inspect, but then the child leaned back behind the tree, and Toothless saw what was happening to Hiccup's intestines. _That can't be good_.

The first thing that went through the dragon's head was that his little co-pilot was dying. Then there would be no more flights and Toothless would be permanently grounded. So for the moment the only thing that could be done was to stop the boy from removing his insides.

Toothless gently nudged the boy to his feet and gave him a strict look, but Hiccup slipped back to the ground, sitting down hard. Toothless brought the hatchling back onto his feet again, a little more harshly this time. Hiccup swayed slightly but stayed up thanks to another butt from Toothless.

"Sorry, Toothless," Hiccup said, his voice shaky and unnatural. "You didn't need to see that."

The boy started walking back up the slope, but his legs gave away once again. Toothless was slowly starting to get worried as he once again had to help Hiccup to stand up. This time the hatchling didn't stay up but fell limply onto his side before Toothless could catch him.

Once again, he was soaked and chilled to the bone. Hiccup opened his eyes to see two glowing green orbs blink back at him. He was still lying on his side. Somehow he must have passed out for a few seconds. He was still gasping rather than breathing, and this seemed to scare the dragon.

Toothless let out a whine and hauled the hatchling up once more, this time allowing him to lean heavily on the dragon's flank. The Night Fury's scales were slimy when they were wet, and Hiccup felt himself slipping again. Toothless growled in frustration and kept the boy half-supported with a wing. To him, a human lying down was bad, and standing up was good. He'd seen it before. Standing up meant they were alive.

Hiccup's head was filled with rain and fog and a dull throbbing pain, and his body seemed to be disconnected from his mind somehow. He could barely open his mouth to say something reassuring to the obviously worried dragon.

"I'm okay… buddy," he finally managed to utter, though the words were empty of emotion or anything resembling a voice. His eyelids were heavy and threatened to shut him off from the world, but he bravely clung to the dragon's side and hoped the feeling of utter helplessness would pass, that he could run home, climb back up the rope and be warm in bed before Gobber unlocked the door and said something scathing.

Eventually Hiccup pushed himself up off the dragon and tried out his feet again. They were weak and he wasn't even sure if he could walk, never mind run. He managed a few feet up the rocky slope, then stopped to catch his breath and let his head stop spinning. Toothless was next to him instantly, hovering just within reach, those yellow-green eyes watching him like a hawk. Hiccup smiled and started to move again, slipping almost immediately on a muddy rock. Toothless caught him once again, holding him between shoulder and wing.

Hiccup muttered a thanks, then tried to push off again, but the dragon's wing clenched at him tighter, lifting him off his feet. Toothless' ears were twitching, as if he was hearing something far-off. Hiccup felt the Night Fury start to creep across the ground, then suddenly they were moving at high speed. The movement lulled Hiccup and his eyelids started to droop again. He fought hard to keep them open, but it was a losing battle and soon he was an immobile body squashed between the wing and the flank of a dragon.

Toothless was nearing the sounds. He could hear human voices calling, he could hear them trampling through the woods like bumbling trolls. He slowed, not wanting to get too close, and gently lay his quarry down onto the muddy ground. The hatchling's eyes were closed, a sure sign that there was something very wrong. Toothless hunched down close to the boy, watching his own warm breath blow the hatchling's wet hair across his face. He knew humans got cold very easily, especially when it was raining. Maybe the warmth of his breath could wake him up.

There was someone very close now. Toothless crouched, saw the movement between the trees and blew one last warming breath into Hiccup's face before retreating a few hundred feet to watch from a better vantage point. He saw how the burly man almost fell over the hatchling, how he yelled in excitement to his comrades.

"Stoick! I found him!"

Then there were people all around who obscured the Night Fury's view of the boy, and the dragon decided to vanish. His own kind would take care of him now.

-

It was warm and cozy and Hiccup was finally in some dry clothes.

Stoick stood by the now-barred window and looked out into the looming darkness. He could hear his son breathe peacefully behind him, still asleep. It was a reassuring sound. The boy had come to a couple of times, like when Gobber doused him with a pail of hot water to wash off most of the mud, but then Hiccup had babbled incoherently about someone called Toothless. Stoick had written it off to the fever.

All that mattered is that Hiccup would pull through, like he always did. Although he was grounded for a month after he had recovered.

Stoick sighed and sat down on a stool next to the bed. The light of the fire danced across his son's face, and Stoick brushed some hair out of Hiccup's eyes. The fever seemed to have broken, but the healer had said that he'd have to rest quietly for a while before he was even allowed out of bed. The weather and the fact that Hiccup had insisted on enjoying it hadn't helped one bit.

Stoick gazed into the fire for a very long time and wondered what his wife would have done in this situation. It was getting more difficult with each passing day to remember her face, and occasionally he caught himself going weeks without thinking of her. He wondered whether Hiccup still missed her.

"Dad?" Hiccup blinked a couple of times at his father, then started to sit up. Stoick pressed down on his son's shoulder, making him fall back onto the pillow.

"Easy, son." Stoick felt relief washing over him, and it showed on his face. Hiccup blinked again and frowned sleepily. "Close your eyes, go back to sleep."

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Hiccup's words were slurred and awkward, and he blinked furiously to stay awake.

"We'll talk about that later. For now, you need to rest."

Hiccup watched his father return his gaze to the fire. He blinked again, feeling his eyelids take over once more, then they slid closed and he was off again.

Stoick watched from the corner of his eye as his son gently slipped back into sleep, then tiptoed to the door, closing it as softly as he could.

-

**Well, there's the first of the one-shots! Please review and leave a prompt, seeing a couple of reviews in my inbox always gives me an extremely warm and fuzzy feeling…**

**Oh, post-script: you've probably noticed that this hasn't been to a beta. Please volunteer if you have some time!**


	2. The Beginning of Something

**Thanks for all the reviews! It's really gratifying to know someone enjoys your work. And thanks for the criticism, I need that…**

**I want to apologize in advance for this, but you have been warned. UNRELATED means there is no time line. So this is set before the previous chapter. The next might be even earlier, or later, or whenever it works. Sorry guys. **

**One thing I'd like to say, I really don't like it when people don't bother to review, but add me to their story-alerts. I mean, that's just a slap in the face to me. I CAN SEE YOU. I get the alerts. I know your name. If I want, I can even send you a snarky PM, but I'm not that kind of girl. If there's no accompanying review, it hurts. *Clutches as heart*. I don't care if you only say 'nice' or 'crap' or 'utter rubbish, but write more', I WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU ADD ME! Sorry, I don't mean to sound ungrateful.**

**Anyway. Thanks for the prompt, ECHO230!**

**Prompt: Injury (By the way, the more prompts I get, the more ideas I get, the quicker I write, the quicker I post! So PROMPTS PLEASE!)**

**-**

**The Beginning of Something**

Hiccup blinked as the sun hit him square in the eyes.

"Hiccup, for the sake of Thor, CONCENTRATE!"

Gobber's voice echoed around the arena as the last remaining three trainees circled around their intended target. The Deadly Nadder eyed the young Vikings as they slipped in and out of view. It wasn't known for its intelligence, but any idiot can spot the weak link in the chain.

Once again, Hiccup had to dive out of the way of a fireball before it charred him to ash. He gained an impressive graze on the knee and stumbled to his feet to dodge another torrent of flames aimed at him.

It was Astrid who finally diverted the Nadder's attention for a now exhausted Hiccup. Gobber grumbled something about a hopeless imp as he wrestled the dragon back into its hold and ordered a line-up.

Hiccup couldn't stand still as Gobber sized up the line of young Vikings in front of him. He needed to leave. NOW. He'd finally figured out what was wrong with that tailfin he'd fashioned for the Night Fury. It had occurred to him as he skidded across the ground to avoid becoming a pile of ash.

"Hiccup!" Gobber came to a standstill in front of the skinny boy and fixed upon him a fierce stare. "What did you do wrong today?"

Tuffnut snorted.

"Everything?" he suggested. His sister sniggered.

Gobber shoved a warning finger at the twins, then turned it to Hiccup to give him a mighty poke in the shoulder.

"Well?"

"I… didn't concentrate?"

"Exactly." Gobber spun on his peg, raised his voice and started to dispense his usual bad advice. Hiccup snuck a look at the gate of the arena and wondered if he could slip away unseen.

It was ten minutes before Fishlegs finally caught Gobber's attention by dancing on the spot and waving his arms frantically.

"What is it, boy?" Gobber snapped viciously.

"Hiccup," the large boy gasped, too nervous to express himself clearly, but he pointed at the entrance gate. "He left."

Five pairs of eyes swiveled to the spot behind Fishlegs where Hiccup had been standing. It was empty.

-

"Okay, Toothless," Hiccup said, strapping down the last buckle that held the prosthetic tailfin to the dragon's tail. "Let's see if this works."

The last word was barely out of his mouth before the Night Fury decided to take off. Hiccup grasped frantically at the dragon's tail and held on for dear life as he felt the wind start to whip at his clothes.

Hiccup had known it would be a matter of trial and error to figure out the best way to get the dragon back in the air. The last time he'd tried to get onto the Night Fury's back, the animal had thrown him off, pinned him to the ground and scolded him with a terrifying roar. So for now, clinging onto the dragon's tail and hoping to stay on long enough to tweak the rudimentary levers into position was the only method.

The reptile was twirling through the air, flipping and rolling, trying to get back into the flying gear, and it was during this part of the dragon's flying routine that Hiccup had to hold on the tightest in order not to go flying into a solid rock face. He hadn't actually gotten any further than this, but he was hoping today would be the day that the dragon would realize he needed the human boy to fly and wouldn't try to fling him off.

This wasn't what the dragon thought. The only thing he knew was that there was extra weight on his tail and it was throwing him off. It needed to be gone.

So with a quick flick of his tail, he tried to get rid of it. It didn't work. The Night Fury stole a glance backwards, saw the human hatchling still clutching his tail in its weak grip and rolled his eyes in frustration. He tried to throw the boy off again, but it seemed to be harder than usual.

There was a reason that Hiccup was clinging on harder than ever. They were flying higher than ever. Of course, a creature of the air wouldn't notice this little detail that sent the hatchling into a gasping panic.

The Night Fury growled in frustration. This was annoying him. Why the hatchling always insisted on coming along for the ride was a mystery to the dragon.

A rock face loomed out of the clouds and the dragon saw his opportunity. He twisted in mid-air, changing his direction in a 180 degree and bringing his tail around to smash it against the mountainside.

The dragon turned its head to see that the exchange went along as planned and made eye contact with its passenger. In that instant, it changed its mind.

Hiccup had never been as terrified in his life. Not even that time a Monstrous Nightmare had cornered him between two houses and he was sure that he was going to die an excruciating death by fire came close to the fear he felt right now. He could feel his heart thump erratically as the rock face neared and the dragon performed a perfect turn, thanks to Hiccup and his levers. He looked up to see the dragon look directly at him.

Then they were spiraling downwards. Hiccup could see the cove appear as they flitted through the clouds. His heart started to beat normally again. He was going to make it. He was going to complete his first flight on a dragon without falling off!

The dragon waited until they were an appropriate distance from the ground, then executed another one-eighty. This time he didn't waiver, and this time the stowaway didn't manage to hold on.

Hiccup felt his grip giving away and then he was falling through the air. The ground rose up to meet him and he saw grass and a rock and then the world went dark.

Freedom was the only thing on the Night Fury's mind. He could see the clouds beckoning to him, and beyond that, the sky throwing open its arms to welcome back its child.

Then something went wrong and the world turned. The cove with the lake came into view and he crashed into the rocky cliffs once again. His flight was still… gone.

The dragon lay quietly for a while, feeling the adrenaline ebb from his body, until a tantalizing smell suddenly made him lift his head.

The human hatchling stumbled to its feet, clutching its head.

Hiccup winced as he felt something hot and sticky in his hair. He stared at the redness on his fingers for a few uncomprehending seconds before it hit him. He was bleeding.

The dragon crouched. He had smelt that before. The scent brought back sweet memories of battle and he yearned for the feeling of victory.

Hiccup sat down on a boulder to stop his head from spinning and gazed in amazement at the blood on his fingers. He was still dazed from the fall and didn't notice the creeping dragon edge closer.

The smell of blood filled the Night Fury's nostrils. Animal instincts started to take over as it inched closer to that delicious scent. He could almost taste the delectable, meltingly soft meat…

"Toothless?" Hiccup looked up into the dragon's eyes. "What…"

He didn't need any convincing that the dragon wasn't in a very companionable mood. Fear started to settle in his chest, and he felt sure the Night Fury could hear his pulse quicken.

Hiccup leapt out of the way in the nick of time. The dragon's teeth met rock and Hiccup ran with all the energy he could muster. The Night Fury shook its head and focused on the escaping prey. Hiccup scanned the cove for a hiding place, his eyes alighting on a tiny crack between two boulders. If he could squeeze between them…

The dragon slinked forward, knowing it was faster than its prey, and chances of escape were slim for the unfortunate boy. Like a cat playing with a mouse, it lunged forward, into the path of the hatchling, cutting Hiccup off from his sanctuary. The boy started backwards, but the Night Fury danced away, turning his back on the injured prey.

Hiccup took his chance and sprinted towards the crevasse. The dragon pounced, missing the hatchling by a second, but before it could correct course, Hiccup had reached the boulders and was scrambling in between them. The reptile leapt at the crack, its face bashing the rocks, then its paw reached in to extract its prey.

There was a small recess between the boulders and the rock face, big enough for Hiccup to curl himself up as small as he could go. The dragon's claw was mere inches away from him, but the animal's limbs were too short to grasp hold of him. He saw a green-yellow eye leering at him, then there was a roar and the claw scrabbled against the walls of the little hole again. A sharp talon caught Hiccup's cheek, and he flinched away, tears springing to his eyes. Then suddenly there was silence and the dragon seemed to have left. The only sound was Hiccup's hitched breathing and his own pulse thundering in his ears.

He was too scared to even let out a sob. What if Toothless was just waiting for Hiccup to relax, to stretch out a little, so that he could grasp him with his sharp claws, drag him out of here and eat him alive? Hiccup didn't know how long he could stay cramped up in this position. His head still spun and ached and his cheek stung, his whole body seemed like one big bruise. He allowed himself a tiny sob, but it was like a dam wall breaking, and suddenly he was crying full-out. He couldn't believe that Toothless had tried to kill him. He couldn't believe that he'd allowed himself to trust the dragon, even when he knew he shouldn't have. He squeezed his eyes shut, curling up even smaller, hugging his knees to his chest and pressing his face into his furry jacket.

After what seemed like forever, he moved his head slightly. It was already starting to get dark outside and cold was setting into Hiccup's limbs. Soon he would be shivering.

Then he saw the green eye gazing at him again.

The Night Fury watched the tiny hatchling curled up inside the niche, and felt the same inexplicable feeling he'd felt that day the little creature had set him free when he should have killed the dragon. He didn't really _want_ to hurt the boy. And for the first time in the dragon's life, he felt _shame_.

He'd also realized, as the day wore on and he waited for the hatchling to remove himself from his hiding place, that it was only ever with the boy on his tail that he's even managed to get higher than the cliffs of this cove. Did this mean that he needs the human to fly? And if the hatchling was afraid of him, he would never again feel the wind beneath his wings. His pride took a severe hit with this thought. But the dragon was an intelligent animal. He knew that some things must be done to achieve certain outcomes.

Hiccup saw the eye blink, then the dragon vanished. For a few moments he debated changing his position slightly so that he could see out of the recess, then curiosity won. He got to his knees and lowered his head. Even so, his view was limited. He saw the edge of the lake, some grass, and a rock. Somewhere there was a mighty splash, then the sound of ten horses galloping across the ground and the dragon came into view alarmingly close.

Panic flooded Hiccup's veins again and he curled his legs up again, plastering himself as far back as he could go. The eye appeared again, the pupils suddenly large, and then a fish landed in front of Hiccup's toes. Toothless laid himself down a few feet from the entrance and watched the boy.

"Oh Thor, it's a trap," Hiccup whispered to himself. There was a low moan from outside the little cave. The dragon was watching Hiccup with something like apology in his eyes. For a very long time, the two just stared at each other.

Hiccup took a deep breath. He couldn't stay in this place forever. And Toothless couldn't leave this cove without him, so it was either die of hypothermia, or die of death by dragon. Although falling asleep and never waking up sounded appealing, he couldn't sit here and wait for death.

Hopefully whatever Toothless did would be quick and painless. Like snapping his head off quickly, or breaking his neck.

Hiccup took another deep breath, and inched forward. He froze when Toothless raised his head, but slowly continuing, slipping easily out of the niche. He stood up shakily, his eyes still fixed on Toothless, waiting for the pounce. The dragon carefully came to his feet, once again making Hiccup press his back into the cold rock behind him.

Slowly the Night Fury ambled closer. Suddenly Hiccup wished he'd stayed in the little cave. He didn't mind getting cold. But he was rooted to the spot with fear and Toothless was getting closer.

When the dragon was close enough for Hiccup to feel its breath on him, Hiccup closed his eyes and turned his face to the rock behind him. _Please Odin just let this be over quick and-_

Hiccup felt warm air on his face and then a gust of dragon-breath blew back his hair. He coughed and gagged in surprise at the hideous scent, and then a tongue licked him from his chin to his hairline.

"Aw, gross," he exclaimed, which was a bad idea, as the dragon did it again and this time Hiccup got dragon-gob in his mouth. He felt the immediate need to puke but the dragon wasn't about to stop. It was only when Hiccup was thoroughly soaked in dragon-spit that Toothless relented and allowed Hiccup to breathe. Hiccup wondered whether Toothless was just getting a taste for him before biting his head off, but the dragon gave a low moan and sniffed at Hiccup's hair, then his cheek.

_He's licked my blood_, it dawned suddenly on Hiccup, _yet I'm still alive_.

Hiccup finally opened his eyes and looked up at Toothless. The dragon held his gaze for a minute, then moaned and leaned in to lick the hatchling again. Hiccup avoided the contact by putting his hands in front of his face.

"Okay, okay, I get it, you're sorry," Hiccup said and shivered. Dragon saliva might be warm, even hot, but when it cooled it was downright cold. "You scared me."

The Night Fury noticed the shudder the little body went through. He needed to do anything to make up for his hideous behavior earlier. So he pulled the hatchling down with him as he lay against the rock wall and wrapped a wing around the boy.

Hiccup had had his share of clinging to the tail of a Night Fury, so he knew for a fact that the exterior of a dragon was not meant to be comforting to anything but a dragon. Which is why he was extremely uncomfortable. The bone in the webbed wing pressed into the small of his back painfully and the rough scales scratched at the cut on his cheek. The only thing that was a slight comfort was the heat radiating from Toothless' body. Hiccup shivered again as he felt the warmth spread through his body.

Hiccup would have to remember not to bleed excessively in the future.

-

**Once again, I'm sorry that I didn't send this to a beta, but I couldn't resist! Please let me know if you see any typos or really stupid mistakes.**


	3. The Mothering Quality

**Wow, how long has it been? Sorry about the long wait. If you really must know what I've been up to recently that kept me from fanfiction, check my profile.**

**I just started writing and didn't even stop to see if it made sense. So if you think this is the worst one-shot ever, let me know. I will understand. It also doesn't contain much HiccupToothless interaction, I'm trying something a little different, but I'm planning one with lots of it so don't give up on me yet!**

**Thanks for all the prompts, guys! I'm really going to see if I can try them all, I've been a bit distracted lately, but I've made a list of all the prompts I've gotten, so eventually, I'll get to it!**

**Oh yes, disclaimer. Nah, see my profile.**

_**This is the past.**_

**Prompt: Mother (thanks to Cookie Master's Apprentice!) **

**The Mothering Quality**

Stoick the Vast wasn't generally a sentimental man. He didn't care for tidy living spaces or tasty food. Mostly because he hadn't had a female presence in his life for exactly ten years today.

Yet today, he would allow it. When Gobber approached him with the idea of a commemoration banquet, he refused at first. Still, Gobber wouldn't allow the day to pass unnoticed once again, and eventually he had gotten the whole tribe to rally against their chief and demand a bit of festivity. Stoick relented, and now stood in the Great Hall and watched as the village woman prepared a feast fit for kings. They had slaughtered twenty sheep for the occasion and were roasting seven boars. Stoick had even allowed the ceremonial slaying of a bull at dawn, and after this, the whole village was in a merry atmosphere.

Even so, Stoick couldn't allow himself to completely give in to the smells and cheerful lights that filled the Great Hall. The day still held a painful memory, one he could never forget. Gobber had managed to turn a tragedy into a celebration, but the underlying sadness of the reminiscence couldn't be expelled. Many people had lost loved ones that day.

Stoick sighed and stepped out into the rain to stare up at the sky. The last thing they needed tonight was a dragon raid.

"_Stoick, have you seen Hiccup?"_

_Stoick put the sharpening stone down and looked up at his wife. Her face was flushed with exertion and she was panting as if she had just run a mile._

"_No. Is he gone again?"_

"_I think so. But I don't want to alert the village if he's just going to crawl out someone's wood store and say he was playing a game."_

"_I'll help you look for a while, but the fleet is leaving at noon. We can't be late."_

_Stoick followed his wife out the front door of their house overlooking the village below, ignoring the playful roll of her eyes. Emma always had this knack of finding humor in inappropriate moments. While she went along the side of the house, Stoick started down the hill. Behind him, he heard his wife call out to their son. He copied her, his voice carrying across the grass down to the village, much farther that Emma's. He'd always known his wife wasn't the most burly woman he could have chosen, heck, she was the most unlikely wife of a chief. She was always laughing and making light of serious situations, even as she killed her first dragon she was making fun of it. But the thing he loved about Emma was her passion for everything: she sang as she gutted fish with a flourish, created intricate and imaginative fairytales to tell to the children and fought as bravely as anyone when the tribe spilt the blood of dragons. _

_When Stoick finally found his son, Emma had beaten him to it. The two was rolling around in the grass, giggling relentlessly and tickling each other with gusto. In was on this frivolous note that Stoick announced his departure and left, leaving his light-hearted wife in full charge of the village. It was only when the ships returned from yet another unsuccessful search for the lair of the dragons that the tribe found the village burnt to the ground. The villagers that remained told the heroic story of the wife of the chief who led a band of warrior mothers to rally against the marauding tribes from the north. Posthumously, the title of Emma the Plucky was bestowed upon the brave wife, and the battle also named because of her: the Battle of the Mamas. It was the last time the village had been left in the care of women only._

Stoick shook the memory from his mind temporarily and refocused on the events lying before him. He had still had to come up with a couple of words to say about the occasion when he opened the banquet, and this was the thing that was bothering him most of all. Since that horrible day, he hadn't spoken a single word about his wife to the villagers. He couldn't express his sorrow in public, he was the strong Chief, Stoick the Vast, and showing one crack of weakness would undermine his power. He couldn't even talk to his own son about the painful memory of his mother. Stoick had a dilemma, and it was starting to show.

Gobber could tell that the great Chief was having second thoughts about the banquet in remembrance of his wife. And in a desperate attempt to distract Stoick the Vast, he brought up a topic that was generally avoided by all.

"How's Hiccup?"

"I have no idea," Stoick replied. This was the truth, he had barely spoken the boy in the past couple of weeks. Which was actually a bit of a relief.

"Do you think he's taking this whole thing well?" Gobber prodded gently, handing the chief a pint of ale.

"Do you mean the banquet?" Stoick sighed and took a few large gulps. "I should think so. Usually when he has a problem he voices it. Loud and clear."

"By the way, where is he?"

And this question seemed to do the job of occupying Stoick's mind for an adequate amount of time. It was a whole ten minutes before he spotted a girl carrying a large platter of what seemed to be boiled fowl and dispatched her to go find his son. After that, the chief went back to worrying about his upcoming speech.

Astrid sighed with relief as she stepped into the cool air outside the Great Hall. No more hot coals, no more meaty smells, no more being subjected to the fact that you had female genes. Although she had been demoted to Hiccup-tracker.

She headed straight to the woods. He was usually around here somewhere, mooching around and being generally useless. She'd find him in record time, drag him back to the village and try to escape before her mother gave her another food-related mission. Astrid had no intention of wasting time on a stupid wandering boy.

Yet Hiccup was hard to find. At first she was sure he'd be right behind that tree, or just beyond that boulder, but after a while, she was getting deeper into the forest and she still hadn't found him. It was getting annoying.

"Hiccup!" she called, giving up the element of surprise in favor of time. Besides, she'd never been in this part of the woods, and even though she scoffed at Gobber's stories of trolls, she didn't want to think of what could be lurking around here. Apart from an idiot, of course. Still, she didn't want to surprise something creepy when she didn't have her weapon handy.

Not far away, an impatient dragon was still waiting. His life consisted of sleep, flight and hunting, and since the latter depended largely on flight and he'd slept longer than any Night Fury should, he had nothing to do but sit around and wait for the puny creature that he was, disgustingly, dependant on for flight.

The dragon twitched his ears and lowered his head as he heard the loud and awkward noise of a human moving through the forest. For a moment he thought it was the boy, but then the voice dispelled that idea and the Night Fury vanished out of sight.

Astrid had no idea that to anything that dwelled in these woods, she sounded like an elephant crashing through the forest. If she knew, she would have slowed her pace and crept along quietly, and the noise would have gone from elephant to buffalo. At this moment, thought, the last thing on her mind was the noise she was making. Fear was slowly gripping at her heart and she decided to turn back, but all the trees suddenly looked identical. Panic was starting to flood her veins.

Her pulse raced involuntarily and her breath quickened without her realizing it. Suddenly she was terrified and stumbling blindly through the forest.

So when she came to the cove in the forest, she stopped abruptly and forced her breathing to calm down. It was beautiful around here. She started to feel stupid and ridiculous for running like a scared little girl through the forest.

Carefully sliding down the rocky incline, she wandered for a moment in awe of the natural beauty of the place. Then she remembered her goal.

"Hiccup?" she called hesitantly. "Are you here?"

In the shadows of the boulders, the Night Fury watched the girl move around. It would be an easy kill. One fiery blast and she would be dead. And he wouldn't be hungry. He'd tasted human flesh before, it was sweet and pungent, a real delicacy. This one wouldn't have much meat, but it would be worth it.

"Guess not," Astrid muttered to herself, and turned to go. The Night Fury crouched, ready to spring.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

Hiccup stood at the top of the slope, staring down at the blonde girl below. The dragon paused. Astrid stammered momentarily, searching for words.

"Um, uh, I could ask _you_ the same thing!"

Hiccup scrambled down to the soft ground of the cove, his eyes searching for the dragon. Toothless was nowhere to be seen.

"Where have you been?" Astrid's eyes flashed. "I had to come all the way here to find you, idiot. Your father's looking for you."

"He is?" Until now, Hiccup had been careful not to look directly at Astrid, but this seemed to surprise him and he turned to face her. Astrid faltered.

"Have you been crying?" she said softly.

Hiccup spun on his heel, mortified. It had to be Astrid. It had to be her.

"No," Hiccup retorted. Even to him it sounded weak. Astrid pulled at his shoulder, forcing him to look at her.

"Liar," she accused. That was weak, too. She knew about his mom. Her aunt had been killed by the marauders too. But she didn't cry about it. What, for the love of Thor, was she supposed to say now?

Hidden by the darkness, the Night Fury was in no way affected by the human emotions. He just wanted the girl to leave already so he and the boy could fly.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Astrid's hand was still on Hiccup's shoulder, but he was furiously staring at the ground. How could she possibly understand what he felt? And why did she just stand there without taunting him?

Finally, Astrid found the courage to speak.

"Um, Hiccup?"

There was a pause before he answered.

"Yeah?"

"Okay, I'm sorry about your mom, and all that, but you can walk on your own, or I'll drag you by your hair. Either way, we're going back to the village, and I'm not letting go."

Hiccup sighed, scrubbed at his eyes viciously and allowed her to half-drag him up the small incline. Still hidden by the shadows of the boulders, the dragon was starting to think that he might not get to fly today.

"You don't have to pull at me," Hiccup scowled as Astrid yanked his arm once again. "I can walk by myself."

"And let you run off? No."

"Aw come on. My dad wants to talk to me, which, believe me, is an extremely rare thing, and I kinda want to know what it's about. Unless it's about that time I-"

"Will you shut up?"

Hiccup closed his mouth, a small needle of hurt stabbing at his heart, and relented to Astrid's man-handling of him through the forest. It was like she was trying to hurt him.

"Ow," Hiccup said as he stumbled over a knobbly root and landed hard on his knees. "Okay, can we stop, for a second?"

Astrid rolled her eyes and let go of him. Hiccup sat down on a rock and studied his knees. He was going to get a bruise.

"Um, Astrid?"

"What?" Astrid snapped. Hiccup pretended to study the rock he was sitting on.

"Uh, am I… um, do I still look like I've been crying?"

Astrid turned to look at him. Hiccup's interest in the rock intensified.

"Yeah, why?"

Hiccup sighed.

"I don't want to embarrass my dad any more than I already have."

Astrid didn't look away.

"Yeah, well, you are really annoying usually. I'd be embarrassed too."

"Thanks. Not that I asked."

"But really, you could at least grow a backbone. Your mom's been dead for ten years."

Hiccup stared.

"You don't get it. You have a mother and a father. And your father is proud of you, even though you're a girl and he really wanted a boy."

It was Astrid's turn to stare.

"Hey, you don't get to judge my family."

"But you can judge mine? I lost my father at the same time that I lost my mother. He doesn't talk to me. He doesn't even acknowledge that I exist."

Astrid opened her mouth to retort. No words came out.

"My mother is the only one who ever believed in me. I don't really remember her that well, but she used to love me. I can remember that. And now, my own father thinks that I'm useless. That I'm not worthy of being a Viking." Hiccup hadn't even noticed the angry tears welling, threatening to spill again.

Astrid was rooted to the spot. Her mind was telling her to run, but it was like watching an accident happen. She couldn't look away.

Hiccup took a deep breath, and the tears vanished.

"Don't panic," He said, "I won't embarrass you by crying again. I'll go see my dad. Just go away."

And with that, Astrid was free. She turned around and walked away slowly, at first. Then she started to run, and finally broke out into a full-out sprint. When she left the woods, she was running as fast as her legs could carry her. And the only thing she could think of was that she was the luckiest person in the world.

She wasn't Hiccup.

Stoick the Vast was standing in front of the fire in the Great Hall when Hiccup eventually turned up.

"Were you looking for me, Dad?"

The great man turned to see his scrawny son standing sheepishly just beyond the light of the fire. For a moment, Stoick couldn't answer. Then suddenly, inspiration struck.

"Yes. Yes, I was. Let's have a talk."

And they did. Of course, it was mostly one-sided, but at least it left one of them feeling better.

**Okay, I'm sorry that I left it at that, but I thought it would be a cool place to stop. Let me know what you think! **


	4. My Pet Disaster

**So I'm back. I'm sorry it's taken so long, but, as it always does, real life crept up secretly and bit me in the ass. Really hard. And left a bruise. I'm not going to bore you with excuses, we all hate that, but if you're one of those who like to revel in other people's suffering, go ahead and read my profile. **

**Disclaimer: it's in my profile. **

**Prompt: Disaster**

**My Pet Disaster**

Hiccup didn't think to open his eyes yet. He could feel the darkness of morning before dawn still lingering on his eyelids and decided he didn't care what the time was, he was going back to sleep.

Unfortunately for him, someone else had made other plans.

All he heard was an indignant snort and then he was suddenly flying up through the air, blankets and sheets still enveloping him. He let out a yelp but it was stifled by a blanket that stuck to his face and threatened to suffocate him. All too soon, he felt the irrepressible force of gravity take hold of his body and he was plummeting back to earth. Instinctively, he braced himself for the impact of the floor… and waited… then waited some more…

After a few moments of nothingness, Hiccup opened his eyes.

And stared into a pair of cat-like green ones.

Toothless had caught him in the tangle of bedding like a stork carrying a baby. Hiccup suddenly felt the familiar surge of anger, frustration, humour and strangely, affection. Once again, he didn't know whether to laugh or deliver a serious talking to.

Instead, he sighed and tried to disentangle himself from the web of blankets, failing hopelessly. His metal leg kept getting caught in a twist of fabric, and eventually he just gave up.

"Toothless, please put me down," he begged, finally, hoping that his words, or at least his pathetic tone, would sink into the thick dragon skull. It seemed to have worked, because Toothless gently set him down on the floor of the small attic room and Hiccup, finally released from his bonds, stood up and shook his head.

"You're the worst pet dragon ever," he scowled, then grinned, "more like pet disaster."

Hiccup shook his head again at the dragon, who had cocked his head unintelligently. Hiccup grinned and headed downstairs.

**Wow. My shortest drabble ever. Success! **


	5. The Tree in the Pond

**So I was bored today and browsing my movie collection when my eye lands on (lo and behold) a HD copy of HTTYD that my very caring boyfriend got me after he read my fics. And then I felt terrible, because, not only haven't I watched this copy, but also… when last did I add to the Sögur?**

**I scratched around in my FF folder and dug up the list of prompts I made from the reviewers. And put it on my desktop. So you'll be glad to hear that you'll be seeing a lot more of the peacock feather!**

**I'm sorry about the long wait. I think it's been more than a year? A lot more? I am ashamed. But then again, I'm not exactly known for my consistency… so please, if I spell things differently than before, please forgive me. We've already had the unfortunate Stoic/Stoik incident… sorry.**

**Disclaimer: see profile.**

**Prompt: Swim**

**The Tree in the Pond**

Landing was still painful. For both him and the boy. Even now, as he crash-landed in as straight a line as he could, he could see the boy lose his grip from the jolt and go flying through the air.

The dragon came to a stop before he hit the rock face, but the boy was not so lucky, making a quite elegant flip in the air before smacking the rock face above the Night Fury. The boy fell into a crumpled heap before the dragon's feet. Face first in the only muddy spot found in the entire cove.

Hiccup groaned and came to his feet. His shoulder ached where it had hit the cliffside. It was one of the better landings he'd had, but if he wanted to continue hiding the bruises and other injuries, he'd have to find a better way. He'd almost sprained his wrist yesterday and had to be very careful around his father. Last night he had to keep his face very straight as he raised his food to his mouth. Outside, he was listening intently to what his father had to say about the last time the dragons attacked, but inside, he was doing a sort of groan-sob every time he took a bite.

He was covered in mud. He had pieces of soil in his hair and it was all down the front of his shirt. He tried to wipe at it with his hand, but it was no use. He was a gross brown streak from head to toe. He sighed, kicked off his boots, shrugged off his fur and waded into the icy waters of the cove.

Toothless regarded this act with great interest. The boy splashed his face with water and then suddenly disappeared. He could see the hatchling's shape as it moved beneath the water. The dragon put his front feet into the water, but didn't go further. Dragons, in principal, didn't get along with water.

When Hiccup surfaced, he caught Toothless' curious gaze. He laughed at the bewildered look in the dragon's eyes and splashed water at the two paws in the water.

"What, can't you swim?" he teased. Toothless narrowed his eyes in suspicion and stepped out of the water. He wasn't going to get wet.

"Aw come on," Hiccup called. "Haven't you ever taken a bath?"

Toothless made himself comfortable by the water's edge and kept his steely gaze on the boy.

"Fine," Hiccup shrugged and dived again. The water was so cold it felt like icy needles pricking his skin, but then again, it didn't ever get warmer than this. At the sight of him, fish dispersed and gathered on the farther end of the pond. There was a submerged tree in the pond, and even though the water was as clear as the sky, there was a murky depth behind it. The pond was ringed with rocks and boulders; maybe there was a cave down there? Hiccup swam up to grab a breath, then went to explore.

The tree itself wasn't large, but it was difficult to get around it. He tried three ways before finding a viable path behind it. There was definitely something back there. His imagination sprang to life, and a billion ideas came to him. What if this was at one time a pirate's cove, and this was where they stashed their treasure? Or maybe this linked with the sea. It wasn't far from here. He swam deeper into the mouth of the cave. If only he could see-

Something cracked behind him. He whirled around. He could feel his heart beat faster. Somehow he must have brushed past a fragile part of the tree, because a branch was suddenly blocking his way out. He swam closer, tried lifting it out, but it was stuck. Panic flooded his veins. He tried again, pushing hard, but suspended in water, he had nothing to push against. He tried anchoring himself in the tree itself and pushing, but that was a big mistake. Part of it collapsed and only made it worse. He tried the softer areas of the wood, but the more he touched, the more he fiddled, the more the tree caged him in. His heart was bouncing in his throat and fear was pulsing through him. He was going to die. He was going to drown in this pond and they would never find his body. He'd go down in history as Hiccup the Lost.

His fingers became dumb and his brain started to fog. As his vision dimmed, he saw a black shape behind the tree, but by then he had opened his mouth, and the last thing he remembered thinking was – this isn't salt water. The cave doesn't link to the sea.

HTHTHTHTHTHTHTHTHT

The dragon lay at the edge of the water. The boy had been gone for a while. While he didn't know that much about humans, he was certain they were not amphibian. They breathed air, and if they stopped, they would die.

He raised his head and scanned the pond for any sight of the boy. Standing up, he padded around the edges, sniffing at the water. He couldn't see the boy from any angle, so eventually he stuck his head in to see.

There was no sign of him. Where could he have gone?

The dragon sat back on its haunches. If the boy was dead, he wouldn't help him fly. And if the dragon didn't have help, he would never fly again. He would have to fetch the boy.

He readied himself to leap into the water, hesitated, but then he took the plunge.

There he is, behind the tree. How did he get in there? It didn't matter. With a few swipes of his paws, he could scoop the boy out. He did notice the boy's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. Three quick strokes and he was out of the pond, laying the hatchling on a smooth rock by the water. He still wasn't moving. The dragon nudged at the human. It didn't move. The Night Fury peered into the hatchling's face, and whined loudly and piteously. He nudged again, this time a little harder.

The hatchling fell off the rock onto the ground. The dragon whipped down, rolled the human back onto its back, and roared in frustration.

Hiccup opened his eyes and coughed. His chest hurt. Water stung his throat and choked him, and he felt blind for a few seconds until he blinked a couple of times and realised the sun was blocked by the black mass above him. His chest ached. He took a couple of painful breaths.

Toothless sat back, looking satisfied with himself. He nudged his hatchling back to its feet and retreated a few paces to admire his work.

Hiccup leaned heavily against the boulder, his chest still heaving.

"Did I just drown?" he croaked. "And you saved me? You… saved my life?"

Toothless crept closer. Hiccup raised a hand to thank him, then winced. He ached everywhere, especially his shoulder. He could barely move it. The pain stretched across his chest and to his arm.

"How am I going to explain this to my dad?" Hiccup asked the dragon. "I guess 'I fell over' isn't going to cut it this time."

HTHTHTHTHTHTHTHT

"What did you do?" Gobber turned suspicious eyes to Hiccup's face. "You've dislocated your shoulder!"

Hiccup still hadn't a good answer to that question.

"I was practising with an axe… and I couldn't get it out of a tree, and I guess I just… wrenched my arm." _Please please please just take it._ Gobber narrowed his eyes, then went to call Tuffnut and Snotlout.

"Hold him down," he said to them. "This is going to hurt."

**There. Hope I fulfilled a couple wishes in this fic. I know I only used one prompt, but there's lots more to come. Soon, hopefully.**

**I really tried to make this about Toothless, but I couldn't for the life of me think of a reason he would have to go in the water. This seemed like the only viable option. I mean, it's not like Hiccup can make him... I rewrote this story about three times before I finally settled on this one. But hey, if anyone has other reasons for why Toothless would willingly go in the water, review and let me know! Maybe I could use this prompt again.**

**Once again, this hasn't been beta'ed (it was written and immediately uploaded) so please, if you see mistakes, tell me, and I'll fix them.**


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